Snowballs no-balled unless kids ask nicely

Children at an English school have been banned from throwing snowballs at their classmates unless they ask their target's permission first.

In a move that rewrites the rules of playground winter warfare, pupils at Fairway Middle School, Norwich, have been told they will be punished if they launch sneak attacks.

Instead, if they want to throw a snowball at another pupil, they must now approach them and ask whether they are happy to be a target. Only once they have secured consent are they allowed to try to hit them.

Douglas Gowans, the principal, said the policy was simply an extension of normal school rules.

He said: "We told the children that if they were playing a game they had to make sure that everybody who was taking part wanted to be in it."");document.write("

advertisement

");
}
}
// -->

He denied being a killjoy, saying the restriction had not dampened the children's fun. "I went outside at lunchtime and they were being sensible and having fun. They were throwing snowballs, but nobody was complaining and it was all good-natured."

With much of the snow now turning to ice, the school - which has 215 pupils aged eight to 12 - has issued a complete ban on snowballing after several children who were hit suffered cuts and bruises. But the children were still allowed to build snowmen.

The move has won the support of parents and teachers' representatives.

Belinda Yaxley, of the Norfolk Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, acknowledged that the ban "might look like political correctness gone mad".

But she said: "I do not like being hit by snowballs and there are children out there who don't either. If you agree to get into a game then that's fine. If a child gets pelted with snow without consenting then they may have every right to feel aggrieved."

Peter Eldridge, of the National Union of Teachers, said: "With the litigious nature of the society we live in now, I can see where the head is coming from. It is a sensible thing to do."